‘Geneva” feels like their official arrival, a pronouncement of their attempt to put songs first without sacrificing appeal, and to be one of the preeminent new bands boldly striking out of Appalachia to earn listeners around the globe.
Country (#500), Appalachian (#519), with some Alt-Country (#564) on the Country DDS. AI = CleanStraddling the border between Kentucky and Ohio, youth and maturity, divinity and sin, sobriety and drunkenness, two brothers going by the names Gus and Phin deftly explore the duality of life and man in songs that carry wisdom well beyond their years, while not overlooking the importance of a song to entertain. They’re called Low Gap, and even though a single of theirs might’ve slid onto your radar as far back as 2021, Geneva is their very intentional debut album. It’s also a doozy, and the kind of debut every band wants to forward, but only do when they’re patient, persistent, bring forth songs that are battle tested and road worn, and the players are inherently talented and true to themselves like the Johnson brothers. Geneva is a country album, and how could it be anything else with the thick Appalachian accent emanating from lead singer Gus Johnson. It’s the first thing you deem remarkable from the music, and it might even take some warming up to. But Gus’s tone reveals itself as a more than worthy vessel for carrying forward the message of Low Gap songs, complimented by his brother Phin’s mandolin and guitar.It might be country overall, but Geneva is not interested in chasing some ’90s country trend, or being country for country’s sake. With the assistance of producer Eric Tuffendsam, it’s the songs that define the sound, not vice versa, with everyone involved making sure they’re proper stewards of what’s being expressed, not just heard. This results in some songs that are more alt-country or Americana leaning, giving Geneva good texture and diversity of mood. Plenty of life lessons are interwoven into Geneva, but it begins with lessons on geography. Though many might not consider Ohio as part of the Appalachian region, its Southern tranches most certainly are. The opening song “Appalachian Ohio” is the brothers establishing their geographic identity with the area right over the border from Kentucky. The geography lesson is carried through to the smartly-written blue collar anthem “Cuyhoga River,” which refers to the heavily polluted body of water rolling through Cleveland that’s famously caught on fire a few times, and many men from rural Appalachia worked beside hoping to escape the coal mines. “Beattyville” in Kentucky that rests at a confluence of the Kentucky River features an appearance by Julia DiGrazia, and is another standout from the record.
Early praise for the brothers usually centered around songwriting that was advanced for their age. Even though they’re still both young men, now you can praise their songwriting as advanced, period. Where sometimes young songwriters strain to convey maturity, or fail to connect with mature audiences, by being self-aware of the season of their lives, Gus and Phin craft songs that feel distinctly personal, but carry appeal for audiences of all ages. “Don’t you know I’ve got my 20s to get my priorities in line,” Gus sings in “This Young,” and is something we most all told ourselves during our unraveling late teens. The exquisitely-written “Heroes” involves a harrowing assessment of life, death, and stardom. “I think I may go out like Cobain. Start using the stuff that killed Elvis and Hank. And I bet my songs would get radio play all the time…”The wrestling with religion also plays a big role on Geneva whose cover image is taken from inside a church. A song like “Churches” is a fun, unabashed kiss-off to organized religion, certainly representing one perspective on the matter. But many other songs take a more nuanced approach to the mix of emotions of knowing what’s right and wrong, and wrestling with it like many youth do. And what makes Geneva not just an enriching record, but a well-rounded one is the insistence by the brothers to also make sure the album has some fun up-tempo songs to listen to like “Churches” and “Ain’t For Me,” giving the album some vigor. Geneva is a songwriting record, but it’s also just an enjoyable listen. It’s still early, both in 2026 and in the career of Low Gap. But so often in this singles and EP-driven moment in music, when you finally get to the debut LP, it can feel deflating. Not for Low Gap. Geneva feels like their official arrival, a pronouncement of their attempt to put songs first without sacrificing appeal, and to be one of the preeminent new bands boldly striking out of Appalachia to earn listeners around the globe. 8.5/10 Stream/download Geneva
Really enjoyed this album! Certainly has been fun to watch these guys since Grady Smith brought them to my attention several years back. Can’t wait to see what comes next!
i remember the Grady Smith’s prop to those two and waited for their debut to drop.
I just needed something fresh to sink my teeth in!
Nice came here saw a new review and listened without reading. Now I’ve read the review and I love this. Best album since the lance Roark album
Truth be told, I don’t always make it in for the openers at the local, small cap venues. But Kat Hasty brought these guys with her when she was in town back in September. Looking them up prior to, seeing that Chris Knight had vouched for them as a previous opener, I figured they were worth checking out. Glad I did.
Now 5 months later, they’re headlining the same venue behind this release, set on an impressive trajectory.
I let this one play through twice this morning. Smart sequencing here. Album starts strong, but really picks up steam around “Churches” and just stays on fire through the last track.
I know you constantly say not to worry about the number, but isn’t a 8.5 from you basically signaling you consider something an Album of the Year contender?
It’s still very early in the year so I don’t want to be hyperbolic. But I do think this is a great album with great writing and music, and from a very young band who could be releasing great records for years to come. We’ll have to see how this year shakes out, but Low Gap has certainly set a high bar.
I’ve been looking forward to their release. They grew up in the county next to me in Northeast Ohio before relocating to southeast (I think I read that’s where they’re at now) Ohio now. Churches was a fun song.
And es Southeast Ohio is pretty well a whole different state than Northern Ohio, may as well be in West Virginia. My Grandparents were from Woodsfield in southeast Ohio near the Ohio river border of West Virginia. They moved here to Ashland county in the 1950s with countless other folks from that area. It seems the whole U-Brand fitting plant here in Ashland was ran by southern Ohio transplants.
My grandparents said in Southeast Ohio the three “R”s were Readin’, Rightin’, Route 250 as that was the main route between southern and northern Ohio on the east side of the state.
So excited to hear this album as they have now lived from both areas of the state where my family is planted and have written songs about them.
I’ve seen posts on their Facebook account about growing up in Holmes County, which is predominantly known for the Amish country area around Berlin. They did what they called a homecoming show in Wooster last fall. I think they are down near Athens County (Hocking Hills area) now. My grandparents grew up in Monroe County which is up the Ohio River acouple counties.
And if your near Berlin, the Amish country theater is having some great classic country artists perform there this spring. I’m buying tickets for Moe Bandy in April. The Malpass Brothers, Larry Gatlin, Rhonda Vincent, and some others are all on the schedule. It’s a nice venue, we watched their New Years Eve Comedy show there last New Year’s Eve.
Growing up in The Land in the 70’s/80’s I’m not sure I needed another song about our river burning but this one is really good. Hadn’t heard of these guys until now and I am truly impressed. The Appalachia twang vocals and harmonies immediately made me think of an album Trigger turned me onto in ‘25 that turned out to be one of my favorites of the year – “Oak City.” To me Low Gap sounds like an electrified and grittier version of that project. Gonna be spinning this one a ton. The immediate standouts for me are “One Mississippi” and as others have said “Heroes” is next level good. Now I gotta catch these guys live.
Dang i really loved this album. First one this year Ive liked. These kids have some serious potential i hope they stay true to their sound
I’ve stayed clear of these guys because of their Ohio roots and I don’t see me adding a song “Appalachian Ohio” to my playlists (us SW PA Appalachians don’t play well with SE Ohio Appalachians – that’s why WV built the northern panhandle between us), but based on this review, I’ll give it a try.
Ha! I had no idea there was such friction between Yinzers and Buckeyes. You boys play nice up there!
Thanks Trigger for bringing this one to us. Best recommendation since Kelsey Waldon. This one will be on repeat.
For a moment I thought I was listening to John Baumann (which is a compliment). Thanks for stretching outside of the standard 8 score. This is a really nice album. Great to start the year out with up-and-comer.
Source: savingcountrymusic.com